Changing coral taxonomy: What can we do in the meantime?

Author: Hanaka Mera As a PhD student, if someone told me that the species I am working with (or planning on) for my research project actually might be something entirely different or might be five different species, it would be quite overwhelming, maybe feel a bit devastated. This could be true for any researcher or … Continue reading Changing coral taxonomy: What can we do in the meantime?

Types, topotypes and vouchers are the key to progress in coral taxonomy: Comment on Wepfer et al. (2020)

Victor Bonito, Andrew Baird, Tom Bridge, Peter Cowman, and Doug Fenner recently published a Letter to the Editor on Wepfer et al. (2020) re-iterating why the current accepted coral taxonomy is not the place to begin when examining species boundaries or evolutionary relationships in scleractinian corals. They highlighted how the taxonomic value of the study … Continue reading Types, topotypes and vouchers are the key to progress in coral taxonomy: Comment on Wepfer et al. (2020)

Paper appraisal for Gómez-Corrales and Prada (2020) on Faculty Opinions

Andrew Baird and Hugo Harrison recently published an appraisal of a great paper by Gómez-Corrales & Prada (2020) that highlights one situation where you need to get your taxonomy correct – establishing the bleaching susceptibility of coral species. If your institution does not have access to Faculty Opinions, please contact Andrew or Hugo for a … Continue reading Paper appraisal for Gómez-Corrales and Prada (2020) on Faculty Opinions

Media Release: Project Phoenix – DNA unlocks a new understanding of coral

Our core members Pete Cowman, Andrea Quattrini, Tom Bridge, and Andrew Baird have been interviewed for their recent paper introducing a new tool for phylogenomic analyses of scleractinian corals. Read the full article by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies:Project Phoenix: DNA unlocks a new understanding of coral Literature cited Cowman, P.F., … Continue reading Media Release: Project Phoenix – DNA unlocks a new understanding of coral

New paper: An enhanced target-enrichment bait set for Hexacorallia provides phylogenomic resolution of the staghorn corals (Acroporidae) and close relatives

Graphical Abstract Congratulations to Peter Cowman and co-authors for a paper just accepted in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. The paper presents a molecular approach that has the potential to provide species level resolution with the Genus Acropora – the Holy Grail for Acropora taxonomy. The results of the phylogenomic analysis are profound (see quote below) … Continue reading New paper: An enhanced target-enrichment bait set for Hexacorallia provides phylogenomic resolution of the staghorn corals (Acroporidae) and close relatives

Project Phoenix Retreat 2020 at Puzzle Creek

The Project Phoenix Townsville Hub and collaborators has recently gathered in Puzzle Creek, Queensland for a team retreat. The purpose of this retreat was to discuss the kick-off of Project Phoenix, to have a PhD confirmation seminar, and to get to know each other better in a beautiful open-air environment. The team comprised of Project … Continue reading Project Phoenix Retreat 2020 at Puzzle Creek